Rural Nonfarm Employment and Incomes in the Eastern Himalayas

Nonfarm activities generate on average about 60 percent of rural households? incomes in the eastern Himalayan region of India. This paper analyzes the determinants of participation in nonfarm activities and of nonfarm incomes across rural households. We present and explore an analytical framework that yields different activity choices as optimal solutions to a simple utility maximization problem. A unique data set collected in the eastern Himalayas allows us to closely examine the implications of the analytical framework. We conduct an empirical inquiry that reveals that education plays a major role in accessing more remunerative nonfarm employment. Other household assets and characteristics such as land, social status, geographical location, and credit access also play a role

Interstate war and food security: Implications from Russia's invasion of Ukraine

In this article, we review and shed light on the interlinkages between interstate war and food insecurity and discuss global policy actions needed to address the challenges of food insecurity due to interstate war. We conceptualize the interlinkages between these two issues with a focus on: (i) the most critical and direct cause of interstate war, namely geo (territorial) political conflict, and (ii) the mechanisms through which interstate war affects four different food security pillars, namely food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability. We position that, if unsuccessfully addressed, geo (territorial) political conflicts will create a vicious cycle of violence and hunger. This position is illustrated by analyzing recent Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Herein a summary of the root and nature of the invasion and how it has affected global food security is presented, with a discussion on the potential considerations and solutions to avoid the cycle of violence and hunger

Female leadership, internet use, and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam

Supporting agricultural cooperatives might contribute to the livelihood improvement of many small-scale farmers in developing countries. This research examines the factors affecting the internet use of agricultural cooperatives with a focus on female leadership, its effects on cooperatives’ economic, social, and innovative performance, and the distributional effects of internet use on economic performance. Our analysis relied on the data of 3,512 agricultural cooperatives collected in 2021 from Vietnam. We addressed the endogeneity issue of internet use in impact assessment by employing an instrumental variable approach. Our results show that female leadership was positively and significantly associated with internet use and that internet use had a positive and significant effect on returns on assets, returns on equity, labor productivity, payment per laborer, contribution to labor union and insurance per laborer, and innovation in products of agricultural cooperatives. In addition, unconditional quantile regressions show that internet use in agricultural cooperatives exacerbated income inequality. Enhancing female leadership and promoting rural education were recommended to improve agricultural cooperatives’ performance

Security risks from climate change and environmental degradation: implications for sustainable land use transformation in the Global South

Climate change and environmental degradation remain the most complex challenges that present and future generations of humankind face and raise several security risks that have received relatively little attention in the literature. This paper aims to review the evidence of security risks arising from these challenges in the Global South and to provide forward-looking perspectives on how to increase the resilience of affected individuals and communities. We see diverse land use strategies as a key element to drive a transformation towards greater sustainability and resilience. We propose that rural land use in the Global South should be geared towards the promotion of resource and biodiversity conservation, the development of agroforestry, tree-based farming systems, the diversification of crops, and the utilization of climate-resilient cultivars, and neglected and under-utilized plants. These actions would contribute to addressing the security risks stemming from the interconnected challenges of climate change and environmental degradation

Does biomass fuel use for cooking affect early childhood development? A case study of Kiribati

Early childhood development (ECD) sets the starting point for future health, learning, and wellbeing; hence the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals recognize the importance of ECD in the global agenda. Therefore, we present evidence of the possible influence of prolonged biomass use for cooking on ECD at the household level using data from MICS 2018-19 for Kiribati in the Pacific islands. These findings have important policy implications for promoting ECD in the Pacific region, particularly for Kiribati, where the use of biomass for cooking is prevalent. The study recommends scaling up the use of clean cooking fuels to improve the health and well-being of young children in the region

Not raised ‘to make big decisions’: Young people’s agency and livelihoods in rural Pakistan

We examine young people’s testimonies about their capacity to make important decisions and their livelihood experiences from agricultural communities that span Pakistan’s countryside. Our analysis is guided by theories of agency that focus on how a young person’s capacity to identify and act on goals is mediated by their local opportunity structure–shaping their household relations, livelihood choices, and prevailing social norms. We apply comparative and contextual qualitative analysis methods to our dataset of 12 village cases, which include 24 sex-specific youth focus groups. We also present a secondary survey analysis. We find high rural employment levels among young men in recent years, and a decline in rural young women’s employment from already low levels. The young study participants mainly observe limited capacity to make important decisions. They repeatedly attribute this to expectations of strict deference to elders and other norms about their gender, young age, junior household position, marital status, and socio-economic standing. They also report negotiating and resisting confining norms; however, young women’s agency appears especially constrained by norms that discourage their physical mobility and visible economic roles. We examine two villages where some youth express healthier levels of agency and more desirable economic opportunities than others, and the significance of kinship relations and fluid norms in this environment. We call for models of young people’s agency that register more effectively the importance of household relations, the gatekeeper role of elders, and the contextual and fluid properties of norms, as these dynamics both constrain and enable young people’s agency

Mechanisation of small-scale farms in South Asia: Empirical evidence derived from farm households survey

In the agricultural sector, labour shortage, and increase in wages resulting from out-migration, and the necessity to employ sustainable intensification practices to minimise the use of inputs such as water, fertilizer, and energy, calls for investment in the mechanisation of small-scale farms in South Asia (SA). Therefore, this study investigates the mechanisation process undertaken in SA with a special reference to India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where agriculture, an important source of rural livelihoods, is adversely affected by out-migration and the depletion of natural resources. This study finds that tractors (74%), pumps (72%), threshers (65%), harvesters (23%), and power tillers (16%) are the predominantly used farm machinery in SA. Farm mechanisation is most widespread in India, followed by Nepal and Bangladesh, though the types of machinery used vary across them. Multivariate probit model shows that male headship, access to credit and extension services, economic status, and training positively influence farm mechanisation. Hence, along with enhanced provision for credit and training, an agricultural policy that aims to improve access to farm machinery should target marginalised and poor farmers to sustain agricultural production and ensure food security

An introduction to rural and agricultural development in the digital age

This special issue contributes to the development economics literature by highlighting the role of information communication and technologies (ICTs) in supporting rural and agricultural development. It is comprised of nine papers. Key findings from this special issue include: (1) internet use increases rural consumption diversity and agricultural productivity; (2) smartphone use empowers rural women in household decision-making and off-farm work participation; (3) smartphone-based agricultural extension services boost rural income growth; (4) a lack of ICT infrastructure and inadequate skills to use digital technologies are two key factors that lead to digital poverty traps for smallholder rural farmers; (5) ICT adoption increases the probability of rural households' access to credit and empowers rural women and farm households in relatively less developed regions to access credit; (6) digital financial inclusion reduces farmers' vulnerability to poverty; and (7) e-commerce adoption increases both sales prices and marketing costs, but the magnitude of increasing the former is higher than the magnitude of increasing the latter, which finally contributes to a higher gross return. This special issue also proposes practical instruments and implications for advancing the application of ICTs in rural areas to accelerate rural and agricultural development in the digital age

Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Stress-Resilient Maize Hybrids in Rain-fed Agro-Environment in Karnataka

Although maize plays a vital role in the food, fodder, and livelihood security of millions of farmers in India, it is highly vulnerable to drought and heat stress. Maize cultivation is prevalent in stress-prone agro-ecology, where the risk of losing the yield and income of smallholder farmers is high. Development and deployment of stress-resilient maize hybrids to farmers in marginal areas are crucial for coping with drought risk. The adoption of stress-resilient varieties depends on farmers’ perception of the hybrid and willingness to pay (WTP) for it. In this paper, the study has estimated WTP for stress-resilient maize hybrids using primary data collected from 180 maize-growing farm households from rain-fed agro-environments in the Indian state of Karnataka. WTP was estimated using a double-bounded dichotomous choice model, and the mean WTP worked out to ₹ 312.76/kg. Farmers are WTP 37 per cent premium prices to stress-resilient maize hybrid as compared to the average price paid to conventional hybrids

Maize Market Participation among Female- and Male-Headed Households in Ethiopia

<p>This paper examines the market participation gaps and their causes between female-headed households (FHHs) and male-headed households (MHHs) in Ethiopia using an Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition approach. The results showed that structural/coefficient effects accounted for 74 per cent (65%) of the differences between FHH and MHH in the net buyer (net seller) maize market positions. The gap between FHH and MHHs regarding quantities of maize sold was largely explained by endowment effects. The results imply that closing the observed market participation gaps will require policy interventions that facilitate equal access for both FHHs and MHHs to resources and other supportive social networks.</p